Arab League and OIC call for a truce in Syria during Ramadan

The Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation issued a joint appeal urging for a ceasefire and a stop of all acts of violence and fighting in Syria during the month of Ramadan, which began yesterday.

The Secretary-General of the Arab League, Nabil Al-Arabi, and the Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation called, in a statement, “all the warring parties in Syria to commit to a comprehensive cessation of fire and all acts of violence and fighting in all its forms on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan.”

The statement said the call comes to “stop the Syrian bloodshed and to alleviate their suffering and allow relief organisations to carry out their duties and to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the affected areas in all the Syrian territories.”

The Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation urged “all parties and regional powers and international actors and those concerned with the Syrian crisis to support this joint appeal and to urge the Syrian government and all opposing parties to accept the truce and a comprehensive cessation of fire and all military operations.”

The Syrian crisis began in March 2011 as a peaceful uprising against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, before turning into an armed conflict which has left more than 162,000 people dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

According to the United Nations figures, the crisis forced more than nine million Syrians, or about half the population, to flee their homes.